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Florian Thauvin scored twice as Lens claimed a 2-1 victory at Angers on Sunday, propelling the northern French club to the top of Ligue 1 for the first time since August 2004.
Lens move a point clear of reigning French and European champions Paris Saint-Germain, who suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at Monaco on Saturday. Marseille could also have gone top but were held 2-2 at home by Toulouse, leaving them third.
Thauvin opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time with a fierce left-footed strike that left Angers goalkeeper Melvin Zinga stranded. The 32-year-old, who spent much of his career at Marseille, added a second 17 minutes from time with a deflected shot. Harouna Djibirin pulled one back for the hosts shortly after, but Lens held on, aided by a late VAR intervention that overturned an Angers penalty.
“It’s a great feeling to be top, but it’s just a snapshot,” Lens coach Pierre Sage said. “We need to keep improving and manage games better so the final minutes aren’t so stressful.”
Lens have won four consecutive league games and seven of their last eight, with Thauvin enjoying a remarkable return to form following a lengthy injury layoff. The French World Cup winner, who had been sidelined internationally for six years, earned a recall in October and scored on his first appearance for France since 2019 against Azerbaijan.
Elsewhere in Ligue 1, Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane netted a late winner as Lille defeated Le Havre 1-0 to rise to fourth, while Strasbourg slipped to defeat at home, losing 2-1 to Brest. Lorient moved out of the relegation zone thanks to Senegalese forward Sambou Soumano’s brace in a 3-1 win over Nice, whose six-game losing streak continued. Lyon strengthened their position in sixth with a 3-0 home victory over struggling Nantes, with Uruguayan Martin Satriano scoring twice.
